The Pacific Outdoor Living Certified Contractor Program is a program whereby paving stone and pond installation contractors in the greater Los Angeles area can receive regular paving stone and/or pond jobs. The contractor is certified as meeting the quality standards for Pacific Outdoor Living, and he also agrees to purchase paving stones or pond products from Pacific Outdoor Living Pro Division.
An Overview
Pacific Outdoor Living has been selling and installing paving stones and ponds since 1999. Pacific Pavingstone, Inc., PPI, is the paving stone division and ponds are installed by California Waterscapes, Inc., CWI. In addition, POL sells wholesale items such as pond equipment, rocks and paving stones under Pacific Outdoor Living Pro.
POL currently uses its own in-house crews to install approximately $300,000 worth of jobs each week. Over the last 9 years POL has become known for its high quality installations and excellent service and has developed very efficient techniques in installing both pavers and ponds.
As POL expands it has chosen to do so by certifying contractors to do the installations. This certification program is very unique in that the program is designed to help the contractor build his business, not just to be solely a contractor for POL. It is our intention to put together the best training and apprenticeship program available.
The program, in the form of seminars, courses, practical exercises and real life apprenticeships will include many of the hard won and very workable techniques for building ponds and installing pavers, for setting up and running a contracting business and for marketing and selling directly to the home owners.
In addition to training contractors on all the above, POL will have:
•Sold jobs that it will in turn sell to the contractor to help the contractors expand their businesses and to keep both their crews going and the cash flowing while they are building their businesses.
•Pacific Outdoor Living has a successful program to market and sell quality pond and paver jobs to home owners. As POL expands geographically it will use those same techniques to market and sell jobs that will in turn be sold to a POL Certified Contractor.
A participating certified contractor is eligible to receive these jobs as they become available. Each customer from these new jobs now becomes the contractor’s customer. The contractor is expected to place his sign at the job site and use this new customer to get referrals. If a neighbor requests a bid the contractor is expected to give a bid and sell the job to the neighbor and the neighbor also will now be their customer.
The contractor will be required to market and get his own customers and not just to rely on POL for work. POL wants to help the contractors to build their business and as a result purchase more product from POL Pro.
As mentioned earlier the complete certification program includes training in not only the technology of installing ponds and pavers but the technology of basic business, marketing and sales.
Pacific Outdoor Living’s Functions
In the system described above POL is wearing several different hats in helping the contractor begin to develop a system that they can apply to the rest of their company.
POL is wearing the marketing hat by obtaining the job in the first place. It is then handling all the sales functions. It prepares the job folders that will be easy for the crew to follow without the Sales Rep going back to the job.
POL will do a customer survey at the end of the job on all the ponds and pavers installed by the certified contractor to ensure complete job satisfaction. The contractor will be notified of any non-optimum condition or problem with the job and will be given ample time to correct the error and to keep his good standing with the customer (and with POL) and the opportunity to continue to get referrals.
POL is responsible for training and paying the Sales Reps, paying all marketing costs and paying all POL staff that handle the customer or the job in any way. In exchange for the above POL will receive a percentage of each job.
Working Together
The contractor agrees to purchase their pond and/or paving stone materials primarily from POL. A contractor who is in this program has two separate relationships with us. They are first and foremost a customer and as such it is our responsibility to provide service above and beyond your expectations and to keep you happy so you would never want to go anyplace else.
The other relationship is one in which we want to insist on you being successful and we want to work together with you for our mutual benefit. Obviously it is not in our interest to work with you to improve and expand your business just so you can go buy your product from someplace else. From our point of view, there should never be any reason for you to buy your pond or paving stone materials from somebody else except in a rare case where you find you are short an item at a job site and we are too far.
Outdoor living is more than garden gnomes and a few patio lanterns. Quickly gaining popularity with homeowners that have homes and yards of all sizes, moving entertaining and gathering spaces outside is a trend that is here to stay, driving sales of garden/patio furniture and decor as homeowners continue to turn their outdoor patios and decks into elaborate living areas.
Whether your plans call for pure relaxation, backyard cooking and entertaining, or just having a comfortable place to sit and keep an eye on the kids, your outdoor living areas are worth their weight in gold. Entertaining in the home is quickly migrating to outdoor spaces and this trend has helped fuel demand for new technology and design which includes outdoor kitchens, appliances, grills, outdoor furniture including Adirondack chairs and other value driven amenities and products. The draw to the outdoors comes anytime and anywhere, not just when entertaining or sitting by the pool.
Today, these architecturally and aesthetically pleasing outdoor escapes are an extension of your living space -- providing enjoyment and cool breezes on sultry summer days, a serene retreat, a relaxing nook to cuddle with a favorite book, and a charming yet functional room for entertaining. At the heart of outdoor living and entertaining for many is the desire to cook and dine alfresco, but the most anticipated part of outdoor entertaining is spending more time with family and friends and just being outside again. The main reason for the overwhelming preference is simple. We enjoy changing pace, experiencing nature with others.
Outdoor furniture is a good place to start when making your outdoor experiences people friendly. No matter whether your style is upscale teak, durable and timeless cedar or practical plastic, the deck patio furniture you choose is the most important part of comfort for anyone using the space. Adding an Adirondack chair and ottoman for example, will instantly transform your yard, garden or patio into an outdoor living space perfect for relaxing and entertaining. Outdoor furniture manufactured today nearly rivals the style and comfort of its indoor counterparts, and outdoor accessories to create any mood and decorate all kinds of outdoor spaces are available everywhere. Some folks opt for plastic furniture when they're decking out an outdoor living area, but, if you can afford it, wood is much better looking. As for other outdoor furniture, consider lounging chairs placed throughout the back yard. They could well be the most comfortable pieces of furniture in your garden.
Living and entertaining outdoors is a popular and growing trend in America; with a large built-in grill, refrigerator, warming drawer, side burner, beer dispenser, and gas-fired space heater and some outdoor furniture, your backyard patio easily becomes an extension of your living room and kitchen. Outdoor living as a retailing category is one of the industry's fastest growing segments. Outdoor Living is for play and a retreat. On a practical note, the number of people gravitating toward outdoor living is growing and with the population aging and the dearth of residences with access features, having an accessible yard will add to the value of your home. No longer defined by simple picnic tables, folding chairs and a citronella candle, outdoor living is the hottest topic in home landscaping and among the hottest trends in home design.
Both Terry Morrill & Jason Gerth are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Terry Morrill has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Family and Landscaping. Terry Morrill is CEO of Pacific Outdoor Living Pro Division (), a distributor of Aquascape pond equipment and products,. Terry Morrill's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.